The street is to hip-hop and dance, Supreme and OFF-WHITE, even the highbrow fashion brands joined the creation of today’s phenomenal street culture. With a curated collection of streetwear brands, The Mix Land store in Hangzhou, China, is home to Air Jordan, A-COLD-WALL, AMIRI, Champion, FORCERPBLK, Heron Preston, OFF-WHITE, Palm Angels, Supreme, Undercover and YEEZY, the forefront street brands of today.
Being more than a shopping destination, it is also where people like street culture meet and share their passion. The interior space of the shop began with a lab concept, upon which the Xian Xiang Design team explored ways to exploit details in the street, and to give the space a fluid quality like the ever-changing street culture itself.
Upon entering the space, white walls and floors create a pure and aseptic environment like one experience in a lab. The contrast between white and any other colors or patterns has guaranteed more potential for interior decoration or product display.
To continue the lab concept, the ceiling of the space kept its original industrial style, including elements of stainless steel and grid lighting. The display shelf system, art installation, mirrors and space accessories featured the same metallic material.
Our impression of labs is usually accompanied with wild colors generated from various chemical reactions – the wildest colors of all, neon is also a commonly used design element in the street culture. Xian Xiang Design used neon in The Mix Land as highlights of the space – highly saturated neon blue installation, colorful windows and doors that create constantly changing shadows and flickering numbers on digital screens.
The mobile dressing rooms inspired by the lab air shower room and the shoe display cases inspired by sterilizing cabinets represent the lightness of street elements in the design. The art of high fashion is about being distant and composed, street art on the other hand, comes from the ever changing daily life. Three performing art installations, power extraction, condensation and operation desk add interactive experience to the space.
The first art installation – ‘power extraction’ displays the new-in products in a metal shell, under warm yellow light. As the silver pipes extract the energy, the transparent box next to it would start to release smoke, conveying the amplification and integration of energy.
The second installation, ‘condensation’ is a box of blue liquids, made to modify the process of condensation. The vibrant colour resonates with other blue accessories, such as the bench, cabinet and carpet in the room, creating a holistic immersive environment.
The third installation, ‘operation desk’ features the decomposition concept in labs, as well as in street trends. Be it the decomposition of chemicals or other experiment materials, or the deconstruction of streetwear design, what we hope to highlight here is the process to remove the superficial while shaping a new form. The lingering mist is where inspirations and creativity continue to be born.
Experiment is a boundless and lasting process for creativity, which is again reflected in the design of the sink. Shaped out of a whole piece of flat stainless steel, the sinks is an attempt to eliminate bounds and rims.
As a select store for streetwear brands, The Mix Land is an open book – display installations can be easily re-arranged in the open space, making the space adaptive to diverse changes, taking care of both the commercial and experiential needs for the space. Other than the shop space, the minimalist style of black, white and metal elements extends into the office on the second floor. Classic designs from Vitra, Averte and Flos, as well as vibrant street style illustrations, highlight the space to create a bright and free working environment that corresponds to the shop.